Golf is a well known game in which players swing a club at a ball placed on a ground surface or tee in front of the player. Generally, a player's feet should remain stationary during their swing, especially when a player is attempting to drive the ball a great distance. Golf players thus typically use cleated shoes that provide traction by digging into the ground surface. Ground surfaces are generally varied on any given hole, providing the player with specific ideal positions from which striking the ball may be comparatively easy, such as a fairway or green having evenly cut, short grass, and other ground surfaces where it is much more difficult, such as a sand bunker or a rough having longer grass.
While a secure, stationary position is generally necessary to allow the player to drive the ball with power and accuracy, the twisting motion of the body during the golf swing puts a great deal of strain on the body. While a player may not immediately notice the strain from one particular swing, this strain may accumulate over the course of a golf round, which can last well over four hours for a round of eighteen holes. Further, frequent golfers are even more subject to stress injuries to the golfer's knee, back, or hip, merely as examples.
What is needed, therefore, is a golf shoe that provides secure footing for a player during the player's swing while also reducing bodily stress caused by the swing, while not significantly increasing the complexity of the shoe.